


Summer Break

by Beek_100



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Making Up, Mechanic!Daryl, Misunderstandings, teacher!paul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 06:50:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17955638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beek_100/pseuds/Beek_100
Summary: Teacher Paul has just started summer break and visits his boyfriend, Daryl's, garage, where he discovers something shocking.





	Summer Break

**Author's Note:**

> A one-shot that came to me out of nowhere, I hope you enjoy!

Paul couldn’t stop the grin that spread over his face as he stretched out his limbs.

“Ya don’t have to look so smug, ya prick”, came the gruff voice of his partner, who was hastily throwing on a shirt in his rush to get to work on time.

“But it’s summer break!” Paul whined, rolling onto his front to reveal his naked ass. He smirked when he heard Daryl pause.

“Not gonna work, asshole”, he stated, resuming his rushed routine, “I’m already runnin’ late as it is”

“Wasn’t trying anything, my ass was simply waving goodbye to you as you leave for a long, hard day as it stays in bed”, Paul sassed.

He yelped when a large hand came crashing down onto his left butt cheek.

“Ass. Hole”, Daryl enunciated, kissing Paul briefly when the younger man turned to look at him.

“I’ll see ya tonight, lemme guess- you’ll be in ya jammies still, watchin’ Netflix?”

“Am I really that predictable?”

Daryl’s retreating laughter as he disappeared down the hall was the only answer he got.

“Don’t forget your lunch!”

~~~~~

Daryl forgot his lunch. As usual.

Paul and Daryl had been together for two years and had moved to this town six months previously for Paul’s new teaching position, and Daryl had managed to find a job as a mechanic. Both men were doing well in their careers, but a regular issue was the Tupperware dishes left behind by the older man that usually became his dinner on days when he forgot them. The diner next to the workshop was becoming Daryl’s second home.

Sighing, Paul grabbed his phone and typed out a quick message.

**-You left your lunch here, want me to bring it to you and maybe we can eat together? :)**

****

He tapped send and proceeded to make himself a matching lunch- chicken and ham salad sandwich with a wrapped, homemade brownie. He had just finished preparing it when his phone buzzed.

**-It’s fine, leave it, I’ll go to the diner with the guys**

Paul frowned and replied.

**-But I thought it’d be nice to eat together**

**-No, dw, I’ll get something else**

**-Got to go, see you tonight x**

Paul huffed at being dismissed and glanced at the two containers. He nodded to himself, mind made up.

~~~~

Although he’d never actually been inside, Paul had dropped Daryl at the upmarket Alexandria Autos a few times when the older man was running late.

He parked up outside and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel before grabbing the lunches and exiting the car. He was nervous, he hadn’t met Daryl’s work friends before.

Taking a deep breath, he let himself into the Reception area and walked over to the Asian man sat behind the desk.

“Hi, welcome to Alexandria Autos, my name is Glenn, how can I help you today?” he asked.

“Hi, um, I’m here to see Daryl”, Paul stated. He could hear the faint sounds of people talking behind the partially closed door over Glenn’s shoulder and strained to listen for Daryl’s voice among them.

“Oh, um, sure, who should I tell him is asking?”

“Paul”

Recognition dawned on Glenn’s face and Paul smiled bashfully. He’d always wondered if Daryl spoke about him at work.

“Ohh, hey man! It’s nice to finally meet Daryl’s roommate”

Paul’s smile dropped a touch, giving way to shock.

“Wow, you brought him his lunch! Man, before I got married, I was lucky if my could get my roommate to load the dishwasher”

Glenn’s chatter barely made its way through to Paul’s brain in his shocked state. _Roommate? What the fuck?_

He realised he’d been lost in thought too long and recovered quickly.

“Oh, yeah! Well, I was passing to go grocery shopping and thought I’d drop it into him”, he lied.

Glenn glanced at the two tubs questioningly. Paul blushed and huffed and false laugh.

“Yeah, I felt like having one too, but lost my appetite on the way over, so it’s up for grabs”

Glenn perked up at that, confusion forgotten.

“Nice, man, may I call dibs? My wife, Maggie, is pregnant and I’m lucky if I get to eat half my dinner now she’s in the third trimester”

Paul smiled genuinely this time and handed the sandwich over, amused when Glenn immediately ripped open the container and shoved it into his mouth. As he did so, the door over his shoulder was flung open and a tall, red- haired man emerged, closely followed by the last person Paul wanted to see right now.

Daryl’s mouth dropped open at the sight of his boyfriend and he seemed unable to talk. Luckily, red-head still had that ability, and filled the silence with a booming voice.

“What on God’s green one are you stuffing into your mouth, boy?” he asked Glenn, whose cheeks were full of Paul’s sandwich. Daryl still hadn’t moved.

“And what are you doing standing there, watching him? You got an eating fetish or something?” he asked Paul.

Paul opened his mouth at the same time as Daryl’s frozen form snapped into movement, as he rushed to offer his own explanation, but Glenn beat them both to it.

“He’s Daryl’s roommate”, he uttered, muffled by the food still in his mouth.

“Ahh, you’re Paul, huh? Abraham Ford, I’m your roommate’s supervisor”, Abraham said, holding a meaty hand out for Paul to shake. Once introductions were done, Paul took a half step back and finally looked into Daryl’s apologetic eyes. He held out the Tupperware.

“Left your lunch, here you go”, he said, snatching his hand away when Daryl’s fingers brushed his as he took it.

Paul clasped his hands together and schooled his expression into his teaching mask.

“Well, it was really nice meeting you both, but I have errands to run”

He waved at Glenn and Abraham and speared Daryl with fiery eyes.

“See you at home later, _Roomie”_

He nodded at the three men and spun around to leave, head held high as he clung to what was left of his pride after those awkward five minutes.

~~~~  
“You are ashamed of me! Of us!”

“I swear to God, Paul, it ain’t like that!”

“Then what’s it like?”

Daryl huffed but didn’t answer. They had been having what felt like the same argument since Daryl got home an hour ago, and Paul was reaching breaking point.

“For fucks sake, Daryl, I looked like an idiot in front of those two today!”

“I already said I was sorry—“

“At least I know now why I never get invited to drinks with you guys- because you’re too busy creating a fake life”

“Paul, that is not—“

“Yes it is! You told them, what? That you moved here alone and answered my ad for a roommate? You didn’t tell them about the 18 months before that, our old life back in King County, us moving here for _my job_ and talking about getting married in the next year or so and---“

“Paul, stop”

Paul took a deep breath in that shuddered on the way out. Usually, he pushed emotion away during a fight, but this time he let it fuel him.

“Would you have invited them to the wedding? Or would you have delayed getting married until we move to our next place? Maybe insist we have a private ceremony and take off your ring at work?”

He felt a single tear fall as he watched a defeated Daryl sink into the armchair next to him. Paul sighed.

“Please talk to me. Explain why, please”

It took a few moments, but Daryl finally raised his head and looked Paul in the eye with such intensity the younger man nearly took a step back.

“I love you more than anythin’ in the world, ya know that? I love you so much, I literally think about ya all the time, all day, every day, wonderin’ what you’re doin’, if that kid who’s a little shit is givin’ you a rough time in class or whether you’ll need a beer before goin’ to bed. I love ya so, so much, and yet there’s people who still think it’s wrong, and I don’t get it. Back in King County, we got stares, comments and all that shit all the time, and it always bothered me more than you, ya just held your head high and weren’t ever ashamed of who you was, and I only started feelin’ that way after we’d been together for a while. But, movin’ here, meetin’ the guys at work and feelin’ like a part of the family there is somethin’ I never had back in King County, never had before you. So, I was scared to tell them about us in case they changed and started actin’ like those pricks back home, cause I really like these guys and when they asked about me I mentioned you and panicked and said you was my roommate. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to have to deal with bein’ treated differently so soon after startin’ a new life here. I know it’s dumb, didn’t mean to upset ya”

Paul could feel his mouth had dropped open somewhat. That was the longest he’d ever heard Daryl speak before in the time he’d known him. He smiled softly at the older man and moved to drop to his knees in front of him, hands reaching up to stroke Daryl’s arms.

“It’s not dumb. I understand. But, you know you could’ve just _told_ me what was going on…”

“I know that, just wanted a little longer to enjoy an uncomplicated work life for a little while before I told them the truth. And in answer to your question, yes I was plannin’ on invitin’ them to the wedding eventually…if that’s something ya still wanna do?”

Daryl searched Paul’s eyes unsurely, but the younger man appeased him by nodding immediately. They smiled at each other before leaning in to share a soft kiss.

When they pulled back, Daryl sighed.

“So, not the relaxin’ first day of summer break ya wanted, huh?”

“No. But there’s still time for jammies and Netflix this evening”

Paul grinned and bounded up off the floor, heading in the direction of the hall.

“How about some Netflix and Chill?” Daryl called out to him. Paul peeked his head around the corner of the doorway.

“Why do you think I’m heading for our bedroom? There’s a TV in there too”, Paul said suggestively, grinning when Daryl jumped up to follow him.

~~~~

The next day, when Paul dropped Daryl at the garage for work, he was surprised when the older man insisted on dragging him inside to formally be introduced to his colleagues as his boyfriend, but was not nearly as surprised as Daryl to find that not one of them minded. He left Daryl there with a kiss that earned some wolf whistles and an invitation to drinks with all the guys that night.

For now, though, he was going home to change into his sweats and watch Netflix. Teachers could enjoy summer break too, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos always appreciated!


End file.
